Performance Evaluation of Audit Assistants in Chartered Accounting Firms

The development of efficient and competent staff in accounting firms is enhanced by the use of formal performance evaluation systems. This paper reports on a study which examined the objectives and uses of performance evaluation, the methods used, the dimensions evaluated, the development of overall assessments, the provision of feedback and the perceived strengths and weaknesses of the systems in use. In general, the performance evaluation process in these firms is effective, but there is scope for improvement in a number of areas.     

Organic Food at the Point of Purchase: Understanding Inconsistency in Consumer Choice Patterns

The organic food category, while still small in terms of world food production, has continued to grow in many markets in the developed world. This article focuses on understanding the barriers and facilitators to purchasing organic food at the final hurdle: the point of purchase (POP). A qualitative study has identified seven factors that influence buyer behavior at the POP, and these are consumer intention to purchase organic food when entering the retail outlet; habit; availability; false assumptions; visibility and access of organic food; visual and olfactory cues; and price. These can often be the final hurdle to consumers choosing (or not) organic food at the POP.     

Influence of strategies and heuristics on farmers' response to change under uncertainty

Hierarchical Decision Models of woolproducers' decisions provide unique insights into the impact of major price changes. Producers' lagged response in some contexts appear to be due to the ambiguous decision environment they face, their strategic goals and responses to that environment apart from lags caused by factors such as attitude to risk, expectations adjustment, adjustment costs and learning costs. Much of the response to major price changes comes from strategic decisions to change enterprises rather than marginal changes to existing enterprises. In ambiguous environments, methods may need to be found that incorporate simplifying behavioural rules and strategies.     

One little Lebanese cucumber is not going to break the bank: Price in the choice of fresh fruits and vegetables

This paper reports on empirical research into individual consumer behaviour in the context of fresh fruit and vegetable purchases. The discussion draws on research results from two studies conducted around the actual shopping process. The findings suggest that consumers' price response behaviour may not be consistent with that predicted by economic theory and that this could be significant at the aggregate level. The existence of 'acceptable price ranges' points to the presence of price thresholds within which consumers are relatively insensitive to price movements. Also of relevance is that the primary influence of the budget constraint may be at a broader level rather than at the level of choosing particular products.     

Discussion of ‘Strange bedfellows? Voluntary CSR disclosure and politics’

This article discusses the paper by Griffin and Sun (2013). Griffin and Sun (2013) investigate (i) the association between the company individuals and stakeholders political interests and the intensity of voluntary corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosures, and (ii) investors response to these CSR disclosures. This discussion focuses on issues relating to five key areas of Griffin and Sun (2013), namely, the relationship between political interests and CSR disclosure intensity, the relationship between political interests and investors reactions to CSR disclosure, the political interest proxies employed, sample selection and the empirical analyses.     

Market segments based on the dominant movement patterns of tourists

This paper presents an innovative method for tourist market segmentation-based on dominant movement patterns of tourists; that is, the travel sequences or patterns used by tourists most frequently. There were three steps to achieve this goal. In the first step, general log-linear models were adopted to identify the dominant movement patterns, while the second step was to discover the characteristics of the groups of tourists who travelled with these patterns. The Expectation–Maximisation algorithm was then used to partition tourist segments in terms of socio-demographic and travel behavioural variables. The third step was to select target markets based upon the earlier analysis. These methods were applied to a sample of tourists, over the period of a week, on Phillip Island, Victoria, Australia. A significant outcome of this research is that it will assist tourism organisations to identify tourism market segments and develop better tour packages and more efficient marketing strategies aligned to the characteristics of the tourists.     

Arms Reduction and Global Reconstruction: Can Tanks be Beaten into Tractors?

The paper suggests that some of the preconditions for peace may have a better chance of being fulfilled in the 1990's than they had previously during this century of wars and other bloody upheavals. Most importantly, it highlights the fact (through giving examples) that business can use the sophisticated technology developed for arms manufacture for the production of consumer goods; so that the argument that industries will fail and employees lose their jobs if there is global arms reduction no longer holds. Ways of dampening demand for arms are also discussed.     

A new propensity to trust scale and its relationship with individual well‐being: implications for HRM policies and practices

In the on‐going debate around HRM and performance, there is an argument that greater attention should be paid to understanding the role that employee attitudes, attributes and behaviours play. Emerging research suggests that trust and well‐being are two aspects that could contribute to this debate. Research has shown some relationships between trust and well‐being. However, this has tended to omit consideration of an individual's propensity to trust due to lack of suitable measures. This paper explores the relationships between propensity to trust and well‐being by means of a study of 458 managers using a newly developed instrument to assess propensity and established well‐being scales. Analyses of the results demonstrate a reliable measure of propensity and a range of positive relationships. The potential implications for HR policies and practices of a measure of propensity are discussed. In particular, application in the areas of selection and development are highlighted.